


Snowbound Happenings

by Skyeec2



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Gen, Gore, Minor Character Death, Violence, Werewolf AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-23 21:42:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12517192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyeec2/pseuds/Skyeec2
Summary: A beast is terrorising the citizens of Nibelheim, what are Shinra to do but send their best to dispose of the beast?





	Snowbound Happenings

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Spook Me Ficathon, hope you enjoy.

He fell into the snow beneath him, foot catching on some unseen root and sending him to the ground as one of his few remaining companions fell to the beast pursuing them, his blood-curdling screams piercing the quiet of the night. His screams died off a moment later, replaced by the gurgling sounds of liquid in the lungs, the sounds though were being drowned out by the sounds of rending flesh and limbs being torn from his body.

He remained where he fell, listening to the sounds of his companion being torn apart no more than a few feet away from him, and hoped that the beast would ignore him where he lay. It was a feeble hope but it kept it all the same, keeping himself as still as possible as the sounds died down behind him.

There was a moment of terrifying silence, heavy and grating on his ears after the horrid sounds he’d heard only moments before, before it was broken by the heavy foot-falls of the beast moving through the dense snow.

His heart froze in his chest, stiffening even more against the frozen ground.

It was approaching him.

The silence of the night dispersed around him as the beast approached, its heavy panting growing louder as its heavy, lumbering footsteps brought it closer to him. Warm, blood-stained breaths filled his nose as the beast halted no more than an inch away from him, the weight of its gaze held him in place as a ground-shaking rumbling filled the air around him.

He clenched his eyes shut, blocking out the sight of the disturbed snow in front of him and waited for the beast to deliver him the same fate as his companion.

It did not.

Instead it turned away from him, snow crunching beneath its feet as it left him there. He waited, barely daring to breath until silence descended upon him once more and the beast was long gone.

He lifted himself from the snow, limb heavy from lying on the frozen ground for so long, gaze sweeping the pitch-black night for any hint that the beast was merely watching him from a few feet away. He breathed a soft sigh of relief when the beast was nowhere in sight before hesitantly turning his head to gaze at what remained of his companion.

It was only years of discipline that kept him from emptying the content of his stomach upon the ground at the sight that awaited him, though he couldn’t stop the sound of horror that escaped his throat. The sight was nothing less than horrifying; his companion was spread out upon the snow in a gruesome display of strength and power, limbs scattered across the red, drenched snow and organs on full display to the elements.

It was all too similar to the corpses they’d discovered in the morning after the beast’s attacks, displays of rage and power and nothing taken from the body that could justify the attacks. The beast wasn’t hunting for food, it was hunting for the kill.

A blood-chilling howl pierced the night, vaguely in the direction of the village the beast had been terrorizing, signalling that it was back on the hunt for its next victim. He and his companions nothing more than an annoyance it had to deal with before turning its attention to it true prey of the night, some poor soul within the small mountain town.

He should have made his way back to the village, meet up with whoever remained and resumed their hunt of the beast, but instead he remained where he was, unwilling to throw his life away for a village that had been nothing but cold towards him and his companions since their arrival. If Shinra really wanted to save the mountain village then they could send in their best warriors to hunt the beast instead of sending him and everyone the beast had already killed during their time here.

They weren’t going to stay here for another night.

* * *

 

“Guys! Slow down!”

“Keep up! We aren’t going to dawdle for your sake!” Genesis shot over his shoulder, irritation clear in his voice as he glared back at the form of his friend’s apprentice. He hadn’t wanted to bring the child with them but Angeal had insisted and Sephiroth had allowed it, despite the danger having such an inexperienced child along with them on such a dangerous mission.

The beast they were hunting was a ruthless killer according to the survivor’s reports, tearing apart people as easily as any of them _breathed_ and Angeal thought it was a good idea to bring his apprentice along with them? The boy would die the moment the beast laid eyes on him, no doubt about it.

“Genesis.” Angeal almost growled at him, eyes narrowed at his cold treatment of the boy. Of course he was ignoring Genesis’ absolutely valid reasons for his irritation, unwilling to even dare to humour the idea that he might know better than he himself did. “There’s no need for such hostility.”

“Tell me that again when he’s being torn apart by the monster.” Genesis snarked back at him, striding forward to avoid whatever feeble lie Angeal would attempt to force upon him to convince him that the boy would not die immediately. Sephiroth glanced at him from the corner of his eye but wisely chose to remain silent, knowing that Genesis was already irritated and not wanting to have that ire directed at him.

He heard Angeal grumble behind him, his footsteps ceasing as he waited for his apprentice to catch up to them. Genesis didn’t pause in his steps, continuing his stride towards their destination and leaving the larger man to deal with the child that was following them.

Sephiroth chose to keep up with him, most likely wanting to arrive at their destination as quickly as possible so he could contact Shinra and inform them that their transportation had broken down a few hours outside of Nibelheim, leaving them stranded out in the middle of nowhere. They’d need something to get them out of here once they’d dealt with the beast and he was not going to lug the body of Angeal’s apprentice back to Midgar when they were done.

He breathed a relieved sigh when the village finally came into view, small wooden houses rising from the snow and slush covered ground and breaking the monotony of their frozen surroundings. Good, they could get out of the cold for a bit before they started their hunt for the beast.

He heard Angeal’s apprentice called out from behind them, voice filled with excitement at the sight of the village and grit his teeth when Angeal did nothing to curb the other’s attitude. He wished that Angeal would control the boy, such unprofessional behaviour would reflect poorly on all of them if it wasn’t curbed.

This was not shaping out to be a good start to the mission, they’d only just arrived and he already wanted to leave. The cold was not helping either.

* * *

 

Genesis sighed in relief when he entered the room he’d be sharing with Sephiroth while they were here, Angeal was sharing the room across from them with his student, so he didn’t have to share space with either of them. He just had to deal with Sephiroth until they ended the beast plaguing the village.

You’d think that the villagers would be more pleased at their arrival since they were going to kill the beast killing them, but no, they seemed far more interested in giving them the cold shoulder and ignoring their presence. He was starting to think that the Inn Keeper thought he was showing them a particular form of kindness by giving them rooms here, despite the fact that they had been the ones to request their assistance.

He wouldn’t be surprised if one of them had to be advised that stabbing civilians wasn’t the best idea, even if they had gotten particularly under their skin. It’d probably be him, Angeal was too unfailingly patient and Sephiroth was too internalized to ever act out against someone.

It would definitely be him.

“What our first order of business then?” He asked, turning to Sephiroth once he’d set his pack on one of the beds. The room was small, tiny compared to his apartment back in Midgar, holding two small beds and a bedside table with a lamp in between them and nothing more. There was a window, looking out into the forest surrounding the village, the other room’s window would look over the village then; they had the better view.

“We should try to get information out of the civilians,” Sephiroth states after a few moments of thoughtful silence, staring at the horrendous pattern of the blanket on the bed he’d be using. “Learn about the beast’s attack patterns and victims, perhaps we’ll be lucky and it’ll point to one obvious person.”

“Oh, yes,” Genesis scoffed, turning away from the younger man to the expanse of grey, green and white outside of the window. “Because a wolf would be stupid enough to be obvious about their identity.”

“Vengeance and anger make even the most intelligent beings stupid,” Sephiroth said behind him, voice ringing with a confidence born of previous experience. “The most difficult thing will be getting the civilians to speak to us, reclusive communities like this one don’t tend to like outsiders.”

“They’ll have to if they don’t want to die,” Genesis replied candidly, shrugging under the weight of the other’s gaze on his back. “If they wish to be the harbingers of their own demise then who are we to stop them?”

“We have a job to do, Genesis,” Sephiroth reminded him in a tense tone. Turning back to the taller man, he saw that the other’s shoulders were a hard line of tension and his brow was furrowed as he addressed him. “We can’t just throw that away because they’re uncooperative.”

“I’m well aware of that,” he said, rolling his eyes at the other man. Really, how foolish did Sephiroth think he was? Of course he knew they’d have to help the idiot civilians survive the beast that was intent on murdering them, that didn’t mean he couldn’t be angry at how ungrateful they were or how little help they’d be. “I’m simply pointing out what you already know.”

Sephiroth stared at him for a moment before his shoulders slumped and he sighed softly, breaking his gaze away from Genesis’ own. “We’ll head out in a moment, Angeal will take Zack and you’ll stay with me.”

“Fine,” Genesis sighed, pulling his pack to his side and digging into it in search of some warmer pieces of clothing. He’d packed a few long-sleeve turtlenecks in his pack, the warm, heavy woollen kind that were cosy and easy to move in; perfect for the cold they’d endured while they were here.

“I’m ready,” he said once he had replaced his shirt with one of his turtlenecks and donned his signature coat once more. Sephiroth rolled his eyes at him but remained silent, leaving the room to inform the others that they were leaving.

It was time to get information about their wolf.

* * *

 

It was about halfway through the fourth meeting with the villagers that Sephiroth realized that they truly weren’t going to get any kind of information for them, Genesis noticed the exact moment the hope died in the man’s chest because he’d been more interested in watching Sephiroth’s reaction to everything than the villager’s deadened expression. Sephiroth sighed softly, shoulders slumping as the man in front of him avoided telling them even the most insignificant piece of information.

It was somehow both heart-wrenching and hilarious. Genesis was going to revisit this image later, to enjoy it in its entirety.

He focused back on the sad-excuse for a conversation, trying to pick anything from the sparse words the man in front of them said to them. He doubted he could, but he might as well try so Sephiroth didn’t feel like such a complete failure at getting information once they left. Genesis could be kind on occasion.

“I won’t know,” the man said, answering the question of if there was anything specific that connected the victims. It was _so very helpful_. “I couldn’t tell you how a beast like that thinks.”

“How about a guess then?” Genesis asked, rolling his eyes at the blank look that was turned onto him. “You can’t think of any reason those people in particular would be targeted?”

The man tried to keep his features blank, but Genesis caught the irritation that had momentarily twisted his face. “No, they were good people.” And, oh, didn’t that sound like a lie.

Genesis was about to pounce into a new line of questioning but Sephiroth stopped him by standing from his seat and bidding a farewell to the man, urging Genesis to follow him. He did, stunned that Sephiroth was leaving when he had something to ask, knowing better than to rebel against the younger while they worked.

“Any particular reason for the sudden exit?” He asked once they emerged from the villager’s home, keeping his voice low enough that only Sephiroth could hear him.

“The woman on the outskirts of town will tell us something,” Sephiroth said, turning in the direct of the lone house on the edge of the village. “The villagers don’t seem to fond of her, the mutual feelings might work in our favour.”

Genesis knew who Sephiroth was talking about; they’d seen the woman when they first left the Inn, she was being thrown out of one of the stores spitting curses and vitriol at those around her. She looked like she was about to start murdering people, Genesis had liked her.

“Can’t hurt to try,” Genesis said, following Sephiroth towards the house separated from the rest of the village. They had nothing to lose by talking to the woman and at the very least she’d be more interesting to speak to than any of the others they had interacted with.

* * *

 

They stood in front of the separated house of the village, waiting for the woman to come greet them at the door. Sephiroth had knocked on the door himself, strong, steady beats of his knuckle against the old, wooden door and they’d been quickly followed by the sound of a woman’s voice calling out for them to wait a minute.

Sephiroth stood at attention in front of the door while Genesis remained relaxed against the side of the building, meeting each cold stare the villagers shot their way with a bright, faux-cheerful smile. “Don’t antagonize them,” Sephiroth told him, noticing what he was doing out of the corner of his eye.

“You can’t stop me,” Genesis shot at him, smile still in place as one of the teens across the street scowled at him. Oh, how much he hated small-town people; if he wasn’t working then he’d have definitely thrown something large and flammable at them. But he was, so they were safe for the moment.

The door opened before Sephiroth could respond and a small, blond woman stood before them, fixing them with a scowl. “Can I help you boys?” She asked, her voice thick with the town’s accent, staring down at them despite her much smaller stature.

Sephiroth had frozen momentarily at her attitude but he recovered quickly, fixing her with a neutral expression. “We were hoping we could speak to you about what’s been happening here lately.”

“Cause none of those arseholes will say shit?” She asked, raising one of her eyebrows at them.

“Yes,” Genesis answered, deciding not to bother beating around the bush with the woman. “They seemed to forget that they’re the ones that want our help.”

“That sounds like them,” she scoffed, dark amusement colouring her tone. “If you boys want to ask me some things then you can, I got things to do though so you’re gonna have to deal with that.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Sephiroth said, shoulders slumping in relief at the woman agreement to at least tell them _something_.

“None of that ‘ma’am’, shit now.” She ordered them with a scowl, letting them into her home. “Name’s Claudia, use it.”

“Of course,” Genesis promised, stepping into the house behind Sephiroth. It was a lovely place; small, cozy and obviously lived in. It was obvious that Claudia couldn’t afford much but that didn’t mean her home couldn’t be comfortable, there were hand-made blankets and pillows scattered around the room and though there was nothing of any obvious value around them, each piece of knitted fabric showed an immense amount of care and love.

“Make yourselves at home.” Claudia said, moving passed them into the kitchen area calling over her shoulder as she went. “What did you boys wanna ask me about?”

“The recent attacks,” Sephiroth started, seating himself on the couch as he swept his gaze over the room. Genesis remained standing, gaze moving around the room as Sephiroth started his questioning. The kitchen was open to their eyes, no wall to divide the two spaces, so there was no need to raise their voices to be heard. “Do you know anything about them?”

“I know they couldn’t have happened to worse people,” Claudia answered, surprising both of them with the pleased tone of her voice. She didn’t react to them though, picking up a knife to resume what she’d been doing before their interruption.

“What do you mean by that?” Sephiroth asked, giving voice to both their thoughts.

“Left my boy as good as dead, they did.”

Genesis froze at the words, seeing a similar reaction in Sephiroth. That would certainly explain the severity and focused nature of the attacks; harming a wolf’s pup was as good enough of a war declaration as any. But that meant…

 “What did they do to him?” Genesis ventured to ask, keeping his suspicion out of his voice. If she did turn out to be their quarry then they couldn’t be too obvious about their suspicions.

“Threw him off the mountain,” she answered softly, grief evident in her voice. “No one wants to waste their time helping us so whatever hope he did have’s been fading as the days pass. He ain’t got long so I’m trying to make the last few days as easy as I can.”

“You have our condolences,” Genesis said, genuine regret in his voice. Wolves were family-orientated creatures, the fact that her child was dying before her eyes while she could do nothing to help him must have been beyond devastating. Even if she didn’t turn out to be their wolf, the situation must have been hard on her.

She scrubbed at her eyes, forcing a neutral tone as she spoke. “Anything else you wanna know?”

“… Was there anyone else involved with your son’s incident?” Sephiroth asked, attempting to be as kind as he could be. Claudia stiffened at the question, head cocking as she considered it.

“There’s the mayor’s daughter and a few other kids in the village,” she answered thoughtfully, picking out a plant from the collection in front of her. “And I suppose everyone who refused to help me after I found him.”

That was quite a number of people she could go after if she was the wolf, almost the entirety of the village.

“That’s all we wanted to ask you,” Sephiroth said, standing from where he’d been seated. “Thank you for speaking with us.”

“You’re alright,’ she responded, putting down her knife and wiping at her hands as she left the kitchen. Genesis noticed that she’d been preparing herbs, most likely planning to use them to help her son in some way. “I’ll show you out.”

They left the house and she closed the door after them with a quiet farewell, leaving them to their thoughts and new information.

“It might be her,” Sephiroth muttered, moving back towards the Inn to meet up with Angeal and Zack to share with them what they’d learned. “And if it is, we’ll need to deal with her.”

“Of course,” Genesis responded, eyes roaming around their surroundings. It wasn’t hard to believe that these people had allowed something so awful to happen to a child, small towns could be worse than monsters when they didn’t like you. But as much as he would have liked to leave the wolf to their vengeance; they had their orders to kill them.

It was a shame, Genesis liked Claudia.

* * *

 

“You’re sure about this?” Angeal asked once they’d finished telling them about Claudia and her situation. His arms were crossed over his chest and his brows were furrowed heavily over his eyes, he was disturbed by what they’d told him, morals fighting with his orders.

“I doubt she’d lie about that happening to her child,” Sephiroth responded, gazing out at the villagers milling around outside. “She sounded genuine when she talked about it.”

“But then we’ll have to dispose of her child as well,” Angeal said, shoulders slumping under the realization. “We can’t let him continue to suffer and die alone.”

“We’ll give him a clean death,” Genesis promised, stretching his arms above his head. He could feel the anger brewing in Angeal’s apprentice at their nonchalant conversation but had no want to sugar coat it for the boy he needed to learn that they weren’t heroes, only killers that answered Shinra’s beck and call. “Once his mother’s out of the way.”

Angeal nodded, shoulders remaining tight, while Sephiroth kept his attention focused on the scenery outside, features a neutral blank. That only left the apprentice.

“How can you guys just say that!” The boy exclaimed, fists shaking with barely contained rage as he seethed with anger. He was practically vibrating as he stared at them, eyes burning with emotion. “How can you still want to help these people after what she told you?!”

“It’s not about choice, Zack,” Angeal said, trying to reason with the child. His face had softened and he uncrossed his arms in a placating gesture, trying to get the boy to see reason. “We’ve got orders to kill the wolf terrorizing this village, no matter what they may have done or if they deserve it’s ire or not.”

“But we’re letting them get away with killing a kid!” He shouted, shaking the windows from his anger. Genesis was surprised by how deeply the boy’s naivete ran, or, more likely, Angeal had never told him the actual reasons behind each and every mission he’d ever been on before; Shinra didn’t care about who was in the right, all they cared about was who would pay them the most.

“It’s not our place to decide who lives or who dies,” Angeal tried to say only to be cut off by the force of his apprentice’s anger.

“So we’re just going to kill this woman and her kid because that’s what Shinra wants?!” There were tears of rage building in the boy’s eyes and Genesis could see the way his words were affecting Sephiroth, the man’s shoulders dropping more with each accusation thrown at them. “Because this village decided the world would be better off without a kid who probably never did anything to anyone?! Where’s the honour in that?!”

“There isn’t any,” Sephiroth muttered, words cutting through the tense silence left in the wake of the boy’s anger. Genesis watched as the man seemed to crumble under the words he was speaking, keeping his focus trained on the world outside of their room. “There’s never been, you’re foolish for trying to find any.”

“Sephiroth!” Angeal barked, the sharp word sending Sephiroth quiet and leaving the room in a tense silence.

“Unfortunately, her murdering the townsfolk is the issue here.” Genesis said, deciding to add his voice to the argument. “It’s not our place to judge how the village decides to run itself, only to strike where we’re ordered too. Besides,” he continued, aware of the way the other’s gazes were trained on him. “She wouldn’t have told us anything if she didn’t know that she was signing her own death warrant.”

“Why would she do that?”

The boy sounded so lost that Genesis couldn’t help but take pity on him, “she’s tired.” He answered, remembering a similar scenario some years before. “She wants to die before her child does and if a bit of justifiable murder is what it takes to achieve that, then what has she got to lose?”

* * *

 

They’re prepared for the hunt that night, leaving the Inn and setting out into the cold, snowy night. The townsfolk have long since returned to their homes in a vain attempt to protect themselves from the wolf’s anger, aware that the wolf had killed people in their homes before.

Their blades are sharp and Genesis’ materia sings in his bracer, magic buzzing underneath his skin and ready for whatever he needed it for. They were ready for whatever the wolf would throw at them and to end her before she could attack another of the villagers.

But she knew that they were ready to end her so it was very possible that she was going over the one she believed most at fault for her child’s fate, though they didn’t know who that could be. Perhaps the doctor who refused to help? The local law enforcement who refused to act? The mayor who allowed this all to happen?

Genesis didn’t know and splitting up was not an option. They had to wait until she struck before they knew where she would be.

They had planted themselves around the village square, Genesis and Sephiroth had a watch on her home while the other two watched the main entrance to the village on the off chance that they were wrong about their wolf. Genesis was sure that she wouldn’t come from her home, wolves tended to have numerous ways to escape their homes; passageways upon passageways to protect themselves and their young from those that would hope to bring harm to them.

She was definitely utilizing them for her final hunt.

The only thing Genesis could hear was his breathing in the silence of the night, calm and steady as the moon travelled through the heavens and the stars started to reveal their gentle light to the world. It was a beautiful night; shame it had to be ruined by an ear-piercing scream from the mayor’s home. It was a woman’s scream.

They all turn towards the largest house in the village, running as one towards the building suddenly alight with activity. The rest of the village remained silent, unwilling to lend aid or given give attention to the fact that one of their own was being torn apart only a few feet away from their own homes.

What cowards.

Genesis reached the building after Sephiroth did, following on the other man’s heels as he ascended to the second floor where the sounds of snarling and rending flesh were originating. The sight they walked in on was a horror; but a familiar one.

Wet blood painted the walls in irregular patterns, and pooled on the floor beneath in a large pool. At the centre was the beast and her prey, whom Genesis assumed was the mayor’s daughter. She lay on her back, skin pale from terror and blood-loss, face frozen in an eternal scream. Her entire torso had been torn open, organs pulled out and on display in the pool around her, all but her heart, which remained within the empty cavity. Genesis could see numerous scratches and bite marks on her limbs; the wolf hadn’t been kind with her death.

The wolf stood over her corpse, jaws and claws dripping red and staining it’s white-gold pelt with the girl’s lifeblood. It turned to them once they reached the floor, lifting itself to its hind legs until it stood taller than even Angeal did, and snarled at them, a deep, guttural sound that spoke only of senseless fury and mindless death. It’s eyes were pitch in the light of the room, glaring at them over a full set of large, sharp teeth.

It was glaringly obvious to Genesis that they couldn’t fight the beast in the confines of the house, Sephiroth’s sword alone was not meant for such tight quarters. Sephiroth must have realized it as well as the first thing he did was try to corral the beast towards the large open window, trying to get her out.

It took the bait, carefully moving away from Sephiroth’s steady advance until it stood before the glass panel where a strong gale of Wind sent it flying through the broken glass to the town below, where Angeal and his apprentice were waiting for it. Genesis heard the sound of shock from the boy, quickly followed by a sharp snarl and Angeal’s shout as he engaged the beast, before following the beast out of the window. Sephiroth was already ahead of him, Masamune poised and ready as he dropped from the second story, controlling his landing before springing up and aiming a strike to the beast’s flank.

Genesis’ fall was softened by the use of Gravity magic, letting him float to the ground with ease while shooting fireballs at the beast. It screamed with fury when the first fireball hit its side, turning to face him with furious eyes, lips curled over its teeth as it snarled at him. Angeal forced t’s attention away from him with his large, oversized sword, forcing it back, away from them.

His apprentice was standing back, watching them deal with the beast from the sidelines with his sword clenched in his hands.

Thankfully, the beast was ignoring him, focusing on the ones trying to kill it instead. It wouldn’t go down without giving them a run for their money, that would just be an insult to all of them and Genesis was sure that it wanted to go down fighting. Claudia needed to feel like she wasn’t choosing to abandon her child, if only for her own peace of mind.

She couldn’t stand against the three of them though, her efforts slowly died down to nothing under the combination of blades and magic until she was barely able to swipe at them with her large claws and staggering under her own weight. It was almost sad to see such a great creature reduced to such a state, but they couldn’t allow her to live after her little display before; as she well knew.

She finally fell to a strike from Sephiroth, the silver-haired man opening her up from shoulder to hip and sending her falling to the ground. They knew she was dead because her wolf-pelt faded away, leaving the small, blonde-haired woman he and Sephiroth had been speaking to earlier. She was bleeding out on the snow before them, final breath already fading from her body and leaving her dead and cold on the frozen ground.

All that left was her child and then they could return home.

Angeal was consoling his apprentice, a large heavy hand on his shoulder holding him in place as Genesis and Sephiroth turned towards Claudia’s home. Sephiroth was silent next to him, the weight of what he’d just done weighing on him heavily.

He froze at the doorstep of the house, unable to take another step. He took a deep breath, but couldn’t manage to force any words out of his throat.

“I’ll do it,” Genesis offered kindly, laying his hand on Sephiroth’s shoulder. He looked at him with a relieved gaze, breathing a sigh of relief when Genesis stepped past him into the house. “Let me deal with the kid, you wait out here and I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Thank you,” Sephiroth nodded, stepping back onto the snow-covered ground.

Genesis moved through the house, cold now without Claudia’s presence and the fire that had been burning within the hearth earlier. It was eerie, being in here to murder a child that couldn’t defend themselves. An honourable task if there ever was one.

The child’s room was lit by the soft, warm light of the torch by his bed, bathing the child in a warm glow. The boy was younger than Angeal’s apprentice, smaller too, slim and blond like his mother. He’s pretty, even with most of his face black and bruised; both his eyes are swelled shut and there are numerous splits in his lips, his face is ruined. Genesis reached out and grasped the boy’s hand, seating himself next to the prone body.

“My friend the fates are cruel,” he says into the quiet of the room, drawing Rapier from her scabbard at his waist. Her blade gleams a burning scarlet in the fire light, wicked sharp and ready to ignite at a moment’s notice.

She’d get the job done, no doubt about it.

“You have no idea of all the trouble you’ve caused,’ he informed the boy, running his thumb gently over the shattered bones of the boy’s hand. His skin was black and blue, the bones obviously broken beneath it. “So many lives ruined, all for reasons you never knew.” He sighed then, shoulder slumping as he finished. “What a waste.”

He considered the boy closely, taking in the beauty hidden beneath the pain and anger. He bet the boy was a beautiful wolf, sleek and golden like his mother, built for speed instead of straight power. It truly was a shame that the people of this village had turned against him.

“I hope you’ll find peace,” he said, raising Rapier to rest against the boy’s heart. “In the next life.” He plunged Rapier into the boy’s chest, the sharp blade parting flesh as easily as butter, sinking into his beating heart and emerging from his back.

The boy died silently, unaware of everything around him and trapped within the safety of his dreams.

Genesis remained still and silent for a few moments, letting the weight of things settle over him before lifting himself from the bed and removing Rapier from the boy’s chest. He wiped the blood from her blade and left the room, blowing out the light of the torch as he did.

Sephiroth was waiting for him outside, some of the colour back in his skin and looking much calmer than when Genesis had entered the house.

“Did you do it?”

“You can tell Shinra we’ve eliminated the wolf threat.” Genesis responded, walking past Sephiroth back to the village. They’d leave this place in the morning, let the locals deal with the bodies however they wanted to, and return to Shinra until the next time they ordered them to leave, to hunt down the next wolf.

It was a life.


End file.
